System and method for combining interactive game with infomercial

ABSTRACT

A combination multi-media interactive game and video infomercial acts as an advertising business method wherein a seller of merchandise can combine both an advertising infomercial with a player and/or participant&#39;s playing an interactive game. Preferably, the game is a step-by-step strategic or random game, whereby a player and/or participant user starts at an opening &#34;starting point&#34; and proceeds from one interval location to another. At each interval location, the player and/or participant is interactively interfaced with one or more commercial infomercials so that the player-participant can interact with the infomercial by researching, observing and/or demonstrating the use of the products remotely, or, by shopping for the displayed products by Internet. At each infomercial the retail object for sale is related to the predetermined themes of each interval location.

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a divisional of application Ser. No. 10/637,653,filed Aug. 11, 2003 now U.S. Pat No. 7,054,831, which is a continuationof application Ser. No. 09/610,676, filed Jul. 7, 2000 now abandoned andclaims benefit under 35 U.S.C. 120 therefrom. This application alsoclaims the benefit under 35 USC 119(e) of U.S. Provisional ApplicationNos. 60/143,049, filed Jul. 7, 1999, and 60/201,920, filed May 4, 2000.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

The present invention relates to a system and method for combining amulti-media interactive game or story with product advertisements, suchas an infomercial. A seller of merchandise can advertise and sellproducts to participants during playing of the interactive game orstory, and the players are afforded the opportunity to earn or winpoints, discounts, coupons, etc., that can be applied toward productpurchases.

2. Description of the Prior Art

Interactive multi-media games are known where players are presented witha series of decision opportunities as they make there way through athematic video game or story setting. For example, many video games onnow available where players take on the form a character in a threedimensional video setting, and move through different scenes usingvarious commands. Along the way, the player usually is afforded theopportunity to score points through execution of various types of tasksrequiring variable levels of player skill. Decisions as to which ofseveral paths to take are also often presented to the players. Popularexamples of these types of games include MYST, DARK FORCES and STREETFIGHTER.

Meanwhile, television commercials known as “Infomercials” have becomevery popular in recent years where a half-hour long television programis actually a presentation that tries to sell a product, withdemonstrations, customer testimonials, pricing information, ordering bymail information, music, etc. The Internet has also opened up a wholenew avenue for the advertising and sale of products and services.Product manufactures and advertisers are nevertheless always searchingfor new and better ways to market products and services.

The following U.S. patents are exemplary of prior art that relatesgenerally to the foregoing technologies.

U.S. Pat. No. 5,848,399 discloses a computer system for allowing apurchaser and/or participant to purchase packaged goods at home.

U.S. Pat. No. 5,682,196 discloses a hyper-television system forintegrating remote participants into a multimedia program.

U.S. Pat. No. 4,592,546 discloses a game of skill, such as football,playable by remote purchaser-participants in conjunction with a liveevent, such as a football game.

U.S. Pat. No. 5,813,913 discloses a game of skill, such as a televisionquiz show, playable by remote purchasers and/or participants inconjunction with a common game event where purchasers and/orparticipants are grouped as to skill level.

U.S. Pat. No. 5,830,067 describes a proxy player machine that enablesusers to participate in a game of random chance even though a user isnot present at the site of the game. The device is located at a sitewhere a game of chance takes place. A proxy player remotely purchaseswagering chances, plays those chances, and reports the results of thosegames of chance to clients who are not present at the site where thegame takes place. The proxy player may make gaming decisions accordingto the player's preferences. The device enables persons to remotelyparticipate in games of chance, such as bingo.

U.S. Pat. No. 5,816,918 discloses a prize redemption system for gameswherein in exchange for monetary input, prize credits are credited to aplayer based on the game outcome. A prize selection menu is displayedwherein the player may select a prize that has a prize cost within theplayer's prize credit amount. The player is dispensed a specific prizeticket that is redeemable for the selected prize.

To date, no known systems or methods exist that seek to combine theattributes of interactive games or stories with those of infomercialswherein a player or participant in the game or story is provided withselectable information during the game or story that relates to avendor's products.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present invention provides a combination multi-media interactivegame and infomercial, wherein a player and/or participant user isrequired to access and research product information as the interactivemulti-media game is played. More particularly, at various intervals orlevels of the game, the player and/or participant interfaces with aninfomercial type advertising and product information stream thatpromotes goods and services that are thematically related to the gamecontent at each interval. The result is a unique and entertainingapproach to product marketing wherein potential purchasers not onlyenjoy learning about the advertised products, but also can earndiscounts for the products through successful play of the game.

To implement the invention, each player is preferably provided with aterminal device, e.g., a PC, which communicates with a game server,preferably thorough the Internet. The game server runs a logic tree typeapplication that prompts the players with decisions at each of aplurality of decision points, and responds to each player's choices byaccessing an appropriate one of several database servers, anddownloading information to the players. For example, in response to aplayer's selection, the game server may access product information froma content server, and download the product information to the player sothat the player can research the information, and acquire knowledge ofthe products that is necessary for continued play of the game.Preferably, the content server contains sales and product availabilityinformation, technical details, cost, etc. for each of the products. Thegame server also keeps track of the player's progress through the game,and awards the player with points and or product discounts that can beemployed by the player for purchasing a featured product at a discountprice, or even winning the product, for example.

Thus, as the player proceeds through the step-by-step interactive game,they are in effect interactively interfaced with one or more commercial“infomercials” so that the player and/or participant can interact withthe infomercial in a virtual reality environment, by researching andshopping for the displayed products. At each “infomercial” the retailobject for demonstration or sale is preferably related to the “theme”,i.e. story or plot, of each “interval location” of the game. Forexample, when the player and/or participant user approaches a “locationinterval” in the strategic game, such as a desert, a product such asPERRIER may be displayed. The product is coded so that the player and/orparticipant can access information about and purchase the product, suchas a case of PERRIER water, to be delivered conventionally by shippingto the player and/or participant user or the player or participant cantry and use the product in a virtual reality setting.

A key feature of the combined game and infomercial is the requirementthat the players research and learn about the various products offeredby the vendors. This feature actually comprises a four-step process ofresearch, knowledge, retention and application. A player comes to adecision point in the game that requires that they select a product froma group of products that is suitable for the next task that the playermust accomplish to advance in the game. For example, the player may beasked to select an appropriate vehicle to cross a certain type ofterrain in an allotted time, using a set quantity of fuel. The player isgiven several vehicle choices that they must research in order todetermine not only which vehicle is suitable for the task, but whatoptions the vehicle should have (e.g., engine, transmission, tires,etc.), what speed the vehicle should be driven to avoid running out ofgas, etc.

In order to complete the task successfully, the player must then notonly research each of the vehicle choices to acquire the requisiteknowledge, but they must also retain this knowledge and apply itcorrectly to the task at hand. If they try to shortcut the process, alikely outcome will be that they will fail to achieve the task byselecting a vehicle that cannot traverse the terrain due to impropertire selection, or by selecting one that runs out of gas due toexcessive gas consumption. To further enhance the retention process, thegame also preferably uses quizzes, riddles, etc. at certain points totest the players' knowledge of the previously researched products.Players who successfully complete a task in an allotted time, andcorrectly answer questions, are thus awarded points, which may be in theform of product discounts, coupons, etc. Preferably, as each playerresearches a vendor's product, statistical data is stored that isultimately sent back to the vendors so that they know how much exposuretheir product is getting in the game, how effectively the players arelearning about the features of their products, what types of players(i.e., demographics) are researching their products, etc. Thisinformation can be used to determine an appropriate subscription ratefor each vendor, and can also assist the vendors in improving theirproducts and production information.

The present invention thus provides a system and method that facilitatea unique marketing approach for the advertising and sale of goods andservices that captivates the advertising audience by entertaining themwith an interactive game, and rewarding them with product discounts andthe like for successful research of products which they are interestedin purchasing.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

This invention can best be understood in connection with theaccompanying drawings in which:

FIG. 1 is a block diagram of the hardware/software of a system forimplementing a combination game and infomercial in accordance with apreferred embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 2 flow chart showing the general operation of the combination gameand infomercial of the present invention

FIG. 3 is a detailed logic tree diagram that is carried out by a gameserver in the system of FIG. 1;

FIG. 4 is a flow chart showing the key steps that are employed byplayers of the game during research of a vendor's products;

FIG. 5 is a flow chart of another embodiment for a combinationmulti-media interactive strategic game and video infomercial of thepresent invention; and

FIG. 6 is a diagrammatic perspective view of an optical geometricembodiment of the present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

With reference to FIG. 1, a hardware/software block diagram of acombination interactive game and infomercial system 10 is illustratedthat is constructed in accordance with a first preferred embodiment ofthe present invention. The system 10 includes one or more terminaldevices 12, one for each player or participant that communicate via theInternet with a game server 14. Each of the terminal devices 12 can befor example, a PC, a PDA, a wireless communications device or atelevision, and includes a video display 16, and one or more inputdevices 18, such as a keyboard, a mouse or a remote control.Additionally, other accessory I/O devices, such as an auxiliary display18, can be interfaced to the terminal device 16 to provide players withadditional tools that can be employed to enhance game play as discussedin greater detail later. Each of the terminal devices 12 runs anapplication that communicates directly with the game server 14 viaTCP/IP protocol. Any conventional connection architecture can beemployed for connecting the terminal devices 12 to the Internet,including, for example, dial-up, DSL, cable and wireless.

As will be discussed in greater detail in conjunction with FIGS. 2 and3, the game server 14 controls the game session, including uservalidation, game tracking and content serving. To facilitate this, thegame server 14 is interfaced to a server farm 18 that includes a SQLserver 20, a media server 22, a Web server 24 and a caching server 26.The SQL server 20 is preferably an off-the-shelf software databaseserver that tracks the game players' or participants' names, etc., andtheir progress or level in the game, including their game scores, andinformation pertaining to the products they research during the game.The media server 22 creates real time video and audio content, anddelivers it to the terminal devices 12. The Web server 24 assemblesvarious components and delivers them in any suitable code from, such asHTML, so that web pages may be downloaded to the terminal devices 12 asnecessary to facilitate game play.

The content server 26 retrieves and stores (caches) product and servicedata from the web sites of each of a plurality of product and/or servicevendors 28. The terminal devices 12 access this data at appropriatetimes during game play as will be discussed in greater detail later. Itis also possible to access the product information directly from thevendors 28 when it is required, however, it is preferred that it bestored in the content server 26 to avoid difficulties that would ariseif one or more of the vendors change their site content. As the playersof the game research the various product descriptions, statisticalinformation that is stored in the SQL server 20 is also sent back to thevendors 28.

It should be understood that the arrangement illustrated in FIG. 1,though preferred because of its use of the Internet, is not the onlymeans of implementing the combined game and infomercial. For example, itis also possible to implement the game on a stand alone PC where thegame and product media may be pre-recorded on compact disk, computerhard drive or other storage media. An Internet connection would still bepreferred in this arrangement, however, to facilitate transfer of playerstatistics to the vendors 28, direct purchase of researched productsafter a player has concluded a game, accessing live or other mediaduring play of the game, etc.

The game server 14 facilitates all communication with the players in thegame, and invokes the appropriate one of the servers in the server farm18 to accomplish a required task. With reference to FIGS. 2 and 3, theprocess by which the game server 14 operates is illustrated. First, aplayer 30 enters the game 32 by logging on (e.g., entering user ID andpassword). The game server 14 validates the player through access to theSQL server 20. Next, the video or three-dimensional animation for thegame 32 is downloaded from the media server 22 to the player's terminaldevice 12 and video display 16.

The game 32 may be either a step-by-step strategic game where player 30utilizes a game strategy, or a random game of chance. Preferably, thegame 32 is an interactive video game in which players or participantscan move through a three-dimensional animated or video world, and arepresented with opportunities to amass points or discounts, researchproducts and ultimately win or purchase products. Examples of thesetypes of interactive video games include MYST, DARK FORCES and STREETFIGHTER. However, the present invention can also be adapted to othertypes of games as well, such as, for example, MONOPOLY, RISK, CHUTES ANDLADDERS, etc. In any event, it will be understood that the presentinvention is not limited to use with any particular type of game orstory, and can be used with any such game in which a player and/orparticipant user starts at an opening “starting decision point” andproceeds from location to location in the game.

As the game progresses, the player reaches a number of decision pointswhere the player-participant is given clues that help them navigate tothe next location. Preferably the interval location decision points ofthe game are visually displayed in three dimensions. The clues can bevisual or directive in nature, i.e., go to desert, go to rainforest, goto Grand Central Station, go to house, go to web site, go to library, goto fantasy castle, go to information center, etc. There the playerand/or participant may be given further strategic or random generatedoptions.

A key feature of the combined game and infomercial is the requirementthat the players research and learn about the various products offeredby the vendors 28. As the player 30 maneuvers through the video oranimation, they will eventually come to a decision point at which theymust decide whether to access an infomercial or other information abouta product or service in the content server 26 so that the player and/orparticipant can research the product to identify or locate clues tofacilitate continued play of the game. In this manner, the player canactually score points or product discounts by researching and learningabout the products.

This feature actually comprises a four-step process as illustrated inFIG. 4 of research, knowledge, retention and application. First, aplayer comes to a decision point in the game that requires that theyselect a product from a group of products that is suitable for the nexttask that the player must accomplish to advance in the game. Forexample, the player may be asked to select an appropriate vehicle tocross a certain type of terrain in an allotted time, using a setquantity of fuel. The player is given several vehicle choices that theymust research in order to d4 termien not only which vehicle is suitablefor the task, but what options the vehicle should have (e.g., engine,transmission, tires, etc.), what speed the vehicle should be driven toavoid running out of gas, etc.

In order to complete the task successfully, the player must then notonly research each of the vehicle choices to acquire the requisiteknowledge, but they must also retain this knowledge and apply itcorrectly to the task at hand. IF they try to shortcut the process, alikely outcome will be that they will fail to achieve the task byselecting a vehicle that cannot traverse the terrain due to impropertire selection, or by selecting one that runs out of gas due toexcessive gas consumption. To further enhance the retention process, thegame also preferably uses quizzes, riddles, etc. at certain points totest the players' knowledge of the previously researched products.Players who successfully complete a task in an allotted time, andcorrectly answer questions, are thus awarded points, which may be in theform of product discounts, coupons, etc.

Preferably, as each player researches a vendor's product, statisticaldata is stored in the SQL server 20, that is ultimately sent back to thevendors 28 so that they know how much exposure their product is gettingin the game (e.g., how many players have accessed the productinformation), how effectively the players are learning about thefeatures of their products, what types of players (i.e., demographics)are researching their products, etc. This information can be sued todetermine an appropriate subscription rate for each of the vendors 28,and can also assist the vendors 28 in improving their product andproduct information.

The player thus interacts with the infomercial by joining other usersremotely in a virtual reality environment, by observing the productsremotely, or, by shopping for the displayed products by Internet. Whenthe player 30 makes a selection from a group of product choices, forexample, their selection is entered into a logic interface 34 in thegame server 14. As illustrated in FIG. 3, the game server 14 runs alogic tree based application 36 that processes the selection informationentered by the player 30, and includes a counter 38 for counting andaccumulating items of value, such as points or discounts, which havebeen accumulated by the player 30.

At each decision point, 1 2 . . . n, the player 30 must exercisediscretion and either proceed further to other decision points, or elseaccess the inventory of various products and services contained in thecontent server 26, and presented in the infomercial portion of thecombined game and infomercial of the present invention. The player 30perceives information about certain thematic events of the game, plusproduct selection and product category information. The player 30 mayuse virtual reality techniques to sample a product virtually, such astest driving a motor vehicle, or the player 30 may actually negotiatefor the purchase of the product in question. Then player 30 encountersfurther logic paths 1I, 1J, 1K, etc., until the plurality of all thelogic paths are complete and a product or service is selected ordeclined, at which decision point player 30 proceeds to the next,subsequent decision point of the game 32 until the last decision point“n” is reached. In this manner, the game continues with the player 30being awarded points and discounts as they research products, answerquestions about the products, etc. until the game is over at end point40.

At each “infomercial” the retail object for demonstration or sale ispreferably related to the “theme”, i.e. story or plot, of each “intervallocation” in the interactive game. For example, in the simulated“desert”, PERRIER might try to sell a case of PERRIER water. In therainforest, SPEEDO might demonstrate and/or sell swimwear. In a mountainscene, RANGE ROVER might demonstrate or sell a motor vehicle or otherproduct through a maze or other interval location. Thus, when the playerand/or participant approaches a “location interval” in the strategicgame, such as a desert, a product such as PERRIER may be displayed. Theproduct is coded so that the player and/or participant can access theproduct, such as a case of PERRIER water, to be delivered conventionallyby shipping to the player and/or participant, or the player orparticipant can try and use the product in a virtual reality setting.The player and/or participant user can use the input device(s) 18 toselectively tailor his or her order, and also to view and examine theproducts to be purchased.

Numerous additional features or alternatives may also be provided in theinvention, which include, but are not limited to, the following.Although the game preferably involves player strategy and skill, thegame may alternatively include or be a random game of chance, whereinthe player moves by random chances from one interval location to otherinterval locations, and then exercises various decisions at decisionpoints regarding accessing product demonstrations or actual purchase orproducts from a database.

Preferably, the player and/or participant can also acquire purchasableitems also by amassing “points” such as by trading, barter of acquiredobjects of value (similar to a user redeeming coupons after playing agame at a retail establishment).

The infomercial can also include opportunities of chance so that theplayer and/or participant can try and win a product as opposed topurchasing the product. A prize redemption system is then provided,including a prize or product list with a plurality of prizes availableto be won by playing the strategic game. Prize credits can be alsoutilized and awarded to each player and/or participant. Furthermore, thesystem can also be enhanced by being coordinated with productdispensers, so that a purchaser can be given a credit slip to use inpurchasing products at a later location.

Although it is anticipated that the strategic game be “one on one,”i.e., one player and/or participant user playing alone, it may also be amultiple player game with a group of players and/or participants playingremotely, like many people using “HOME SHOPPING NETWORK” type ofpurchasing or auction. In this arrangement, video or digital cameras mayalso be used to show all of the remote players and/or participant usersto other remote participants or players. In the event that the selectedgame is one of skill, there may be different skill levels available incase a player wishes to play the strategic game with harder and moredifficult intervals than in a basic game. The remote players and/orparticipants can be grouped as to skill level or age, to separatechildren from adults, so that each player and/or participant user playercompetes only against players having a similar skill level or age. Alsoparental permission is required for children's play or purchasing oftoys, etc.

The present invention allows a player and/or participant to purchasegoods displayed in the combination strategic game and infomercial at aremote location, such as at home. The game server 14 downloads images ofthe products from the content server 26 to the terminal devices 12, andcan keep track of the products in a remote distribution center.

The infomercial may also be non-commercial, such as an educational,interpersonal, subliminal or other value-imparting project. In anon-commercial setting, such as a stress relaxation project, theparticipant and/or player can, at various decision points of the game,access information about relaxation techniques, such as how to replacemuscularly stressful chest breathing with relaxing abdominal breathing.

A key point is that the game is preferably played remotely even though aplayer is not present at the site of the infomercial. Player preferencesand/or rejections are stored in a central database file in the SQLserver 20, so that even if a player and/or participant does not selectan available product or random generated award or prize at an intervallocation decision point of the game, the player and/or participant canfollow-up later with other selections in the game to try and againentice the player and/or participant at a later interval locationdecision point of the game.

FIG. 5 illustrates another embodiment of the present invention that canbe employed for playing a plurality of different games in combinationwith infomercials or advertising. A system game server 101, such as anInternet server, a computer hard drive or compact disc or other means ofcommunication, provides a user with a choice of various strategic orrandom games 102, 103, 104, 105 and 106. In this example, the referencenumeral 102 represents a game “A” such as chess, reference numeral 103represents another game “B” such as a football game, reference numeral104 represents a land baron acquisition type game “C”, reference numeral105 represents a further game D, and reference numeral 106 representsother games, which are all provided by server 101 to the user.

There is also provided a scoring means 107 which is controlled by theserver 101 and an interactive graphic mode 108, both of which providestrategic rules and graphics to the user. However there is a furthersubset of the server 101, namely a financial institution 109 whichsupervises financial transactions between the player or participant andthe server 101, whenever the player is presented with an infomercialtype of sales solicitation at any number of intervals in the selectedgame.

For example, if the player chooses the “Land Baron” type game C (shownas reference number 104) the player is then presented with a series ofoptional interval location or step decision points in the game, such asa step 110, pertaining to purchase of property or buildings; step 111that relates to the purchase of land; step 112 that relates to acquiringpower such as from a utility; and step 113 that provides atransportation mode.

Each of these steps A, B, C, D shown as reference numerals 110, 111, 112and 113, are then further connected to advertisements 119, 120, 121,122, which are appropriate for each interval location of the varioussteps. For example, if one is showing a desert scene then theadvertisement might be from a provider of bottled water. So in effectthe player, at these various interval locations, carries out thestrategic games sequentially in whatever order at these variouslocations. Optionally, the game may be a random game of chance withrandom advancements to interval locations. Then the player is presentedwith one or more sales opportunities so that the graphics and plot lineof the game are intertwined with the advertisements. In effect, thesystem provides a simulated created “infomercial” wherein the playergoes from step to step of a chosen game and then is presented withvarious sales opportunities as in an infomercial.

The user then has the opportunity to observe products or to makepurchases such as purchases 129 a, 130 a, 131 a, and 132 a correspondingto the advertisement 119, 120, 121, and 122 which also correspond togames steps 110, 111, 112 and 113, respectively.

Each of these product demonstration or purchase steps are then connectedback to the financial institution 109, which can provide a clearinghouse means for connecting an advertiser to a credit card or other typeof acquisition redemption means for the user to use a credit card orother means of payment to obtain goods or services shown inadvertisements 119, 120, 121, and 122 at game steps 129, 130, 131, 132.

Thus, in the shopping mode at each various interval location decisionpoint, the player is presented with a display of a virtual shelf ofproducts which are generally related to the various intervals or stepsof the game. The product database is connected with the financialinstitution 109 so that the player can browse and shop through variousproducts o the advertisers and complete any financial transactionthrough the financial institution.

Each product is then identified by an identification means wherein afurther file contains the identification mean so that the player canaccess the products and images thereof as well as select variousproducts from a category or products. The player can also have means forretrieving information describing the selected products including visualdisplays thereof.

As discussed previously, the preferred type of game with which thepresent invention is employed, is a video or three dimensional animationtype game in which a player passes from one scene to another during gameplay. One optional, though preferred, feature of the game is to providea unique means by which a player may advance through the game fasterthrough access to clues that are not readily visible in a particularscene. Such clues may be accessed, for example, by using a simulatedoptical aid, such as a telescope, magnifying glass, 3D glasses, etc. oran auxiliary input or output device, such as the auxiliary display 18,to enable a player to see something in a particular scene that theycould not otherwise view. For example, using a simulated telescope, aplayer could view a map on a wall of a room in a building many blocksaway, and discover a clue about a product that they are researching.

Other visual concepts that can be employed in assisting the playerduring game play are illustrated in FIG. 6 that shows a diagrammaticperspective view of an optical geometric embodiment where the user caninteractively proceed through selected optical three dimensionalgeometric oriented locations, such as flying in flight air travel,hiking ravines and gorges, scuba diving in oceanic submerged mountainranges, experiencing stalagmite decorated caves, etc. At each location,such as gorge ravine 200, the visual field displayed to the participantuser is divided up into discrete segmented locations 300 x, 300 y, 300z, such as a cubic grid in x, y, z three dimensional axes. At eachlocation denoted by coordinates 300 x, 300 y, 300 z, the user can chooseto advance further in the game by moving discrete units of information,such as lines, curved shapes such as circles or ovals, or intersectedlines, and use these discrete units of information to expand upon andoverlay them upon the three dimensional geometric oriented location.Thus, while interactively descending hiking steps within a virtual gorge200 having imaginary high cliffs 201, 202 divided by a waterfall 203,the user can build a virtual bridge 600 with linear lines 400 and/or 500across the gorge 200 to proceed further in the game.

In addition, clues indicating how a player should proceed next may beembedded in the scene. For example, a portion of a tree branch 400 canbe accessed as a linear unit, and intersected with a linear jet exhauststream 500, to produce an “X”, shown encircled. This “X” can be placedat strategic locations within the three dimensional grid to furtheradvance the game by identifying, for example, a location where the useof a visual aid will uncover clues, rewards, game points or commercialadvertisements.

Although the invention has been disclosed in terms of a number ofpreferred embodiments, and modifications thereon, it will be understoodthat addition modifications and variations could be made withoutdeparting from the scope of the invention as defined in the appendedclaims.

1. An interactive game comprising a centralized processing in order toprocess strategic or random scoring and interactive game informationtogether with financial information, said centralized processing havinga plurality of games for choosing by a user wherein each game has aplurality of step interval locations, said step interval locationscommunicating with at least one product placement advertisementdisplayed upon a display device having a screen at each step of thegame, wherein the user uses a provider to facilitate purchasing ordemonstrating a product online from the server during the course of astrategic or random game, wherein the user interactively proceedsthrough selected optical three dimensional geometric oriented locationsand wherein at each location, the visual field displayed to the user isdivided up into discrete segmented locations in x,y,z three dimensionalaxes, wherein further at each location, the user advances further in thegame by moving discrete, geometric or optical units of information toexpand upon and overlay them upon the three dimensional geometricoriented location, whereas the user selects at least one mostappropriate product displayed, to use and manipulate images to sampleand try out said selected product on said screen during a story lineplot of said interactive game.